Media Advisory | |
| For Immediate Release March 1, 2000 | |
NCPA Health Ideas Gain On Capitol Hill: Medical Savings Accounts May Soon Be Available To All Americans
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WASHINGTON (March 1, 2000) - The health care conference committee will begin marking up the patient bill of rights and health care access bill this week. As part of this package, Congress is seeking to make Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) universally available.
In 1996, Congress created a demonstration project for Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), implementing for the first time an idea popularized by National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPASM) President John C. Goodman in his book Patient Power. The pilot program permitted small employers and the self-employed to establish tax-free MSAs.
"MSAs transfer power and money from large and impersonal bureaucracies to individual people," said Goodman, also known as the "father of MSAs."
Goodman will be in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 3, and will be available to discuss the MSA reform proposals. Goodman will also be available to discuss the many proposals before Congress to create tax credits for the uninsured, including the Jeffords-Frist bill, which gain their inspiration from "Reforming the U.S. Health Care System," a ground-breaking NCPA study on the possibilities of tax credits.
WHO: WHAT: WHEN: Friday, March 3 -- INTERVIEWS BY REQUEST WHERE: NCPA's Washington Office, 202-220-3082 Many of the reforms the conferees are considering to fix the original MSA legislation were proposed in a brief analysis released by the NCPA last summer.
The National Center for Policy Analysis is a public policy research
institute founded in 1983 and internationally known for its studies on public policy issues.
The NCPA is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an office in Washington, D.C.
Julie Hillrichs, Dallas, TX 972-386-6272 Sean Tuffnell, Dallas, TX 972-386-6272 Joan Kirby, Washington, DC 202-220-3082 Internet: http://www.ncpa.org Home | Support Us | All Issues | Social Security Debate Central | Contact Us |